Freedom?
Our Man-‘mohan’ made a speech
Stood atop the same old fort
It’s been the same for sixty odd years
Seems such a long time doesn’t it?
‘A tryst with destiny’ he said
The man with a rose in his pocket
It’s a pity we don’t even pause
To reflect upon his dream-laden words
Halfway into each August
Our lives take a slight detour
A moment to reflect, realise and redeem
Or just a couple dozen hours to kill
The kites still fly over the horizon
Each year still fewer dot the sky
‘What was the dream?’ do we ask ourselves?
Or has it faded away like the kites in the sky
Preparations begin well before time
The fort is under siege: no goes in or out
Long queues form outside the walls,
Everything grinds to halt, paralysed
Long pages are spoken
Lofty ideals abound
Proud flags are flown
Then trampled to the ground
We celebrate our freedom this day
From tyranny and oppression
But what does it mean for us today
How do we value this freedom?
History marks this day,
The day our country won her freedom
What was a fledgling nation,
Is now a strong people
I guess we all appreciate it,
It’s historicity in our own way
But a point to ponder is,
What freedom means to you today…
Hey.. I loved this.. A friend of mine and I were just talking about it today… About how it just fails to inspire, how all the speeches seem too lofty, almost jingoist..
But I think, it’s because we need to redefine what it means. We need to build an ‘Indian’ identity.. one that is not so easily dropped in the face of our regional loyalties… Tall order, but nonetheless important..